Holding Back
by LoveforthegameBR
Summary: Katherine is a new psychologist in Arkham, alongside Crane. But there is something different about her, she isn't just your typical girl, she's much more. Will she develope feelings towards Dr. Crane and most importantly, will he return them? But with some twists and turns ahead, what lies will unfold? Crane/OC.. Rated M for later chapters. Multi-chapter.
1. Meetings and cold greetings

**Hello there! :) This is my first Crane fanfic, woop woop! I just started writing it last night and it turned into this, now I have some small ideas for what this story will be about. Twists and turns and all that. Anyhoo, this'll be transformed into a multi-fic and i'll try to update when I can. This chapter is super long, my next ones won't be as long, but I just couldn't stop writing this chapter, haha. I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer; I do not own the sex bomb that is Dr. Crane. I do own my lil OC tho! :)**

Crane loosened his grip on the fabric of his grey tie, clearing his throat and breathing in. He quickly finished compossing himself and picked up his pace, walking steadily to the glass doors of Bruce Wayne's newly brought and very extravagant hotel. He felt slightly out of place around all the rich people of Gotham, all the plastic people. He knew he didn't belong in a place like this, but he had been invited and he knew he couldn't turn it down, he needed to be seen tonight. He had planned a ship load of his toxins to be sent through the Narrows tonight. He didn't want any suspicionin any way floating around his name, but if he was seen here, no one would suspect him. He knew he was being overly safe on this, the police would never be able to link it to his name. The Batman however, he was another story. Jonathan liked to play it on the safe side, especially with something like tonight.

He clentched his jaw stiffly, awaiting behind a few people in front of him to shuffle in. He had to suppress the urge to turn back now, escaping the horrid nightmare of this whole ordeal of having to socialize with these people. He by no means wanted to be attending tonight's festive activities held by Mr. Wayne himself, he'd match rather be in his apartment, ordering chemicals and improving his new toxins. He had much to do and little time to do it in, Falcone's gang of thugs are expecting a new shipment of his 'drugs' in by next week and he still hadn't managed to finish off his second loading.

Sighing, Jonathan walked ahead inside the glass doors held open to him by one of the many butlers working for the over done hotel. He almost flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, not because he it wasn't expecting it, but because he had always hated physical contact and tried to avoid it as much as possible.

"Jonathan, it's wonderful you could join us," a tall middle aged woman dressed in an a long red gown exclaimed, squeezing his shoulder in what he expected was greeting.

"Yes, deliteful to see you too, Dr. Rosemary," Jonathan replied rather coldly.

Dr. Rosemary was just another on the list of many things Jonathan couldn't stand at Arkham. She was head of office in his department, just above him, earning herself a higher stature then he, giving him all the more reason to dislike her. Without her, he would hold the highest stature, if only she wasn't standing in his way.

He was hoping he wouldn't have the missfortune of running into her tonight, so he could stay a very short while and then sneak out, while still being on record for attending, just as she had asked him. But here she stood in her wedged heels, smiling up at him. She obviously hadn't picked up on the coldness of his voice or the annoyed tone he had shown at her presense. But then again, she never does.

"Jonathan, how many times must I say it, call me Helena, we are friends after all and it's not working hours right now anyway. Even so, you're welcome to call me by my first name."

Jonathan nodded and replied shortly with a "Very well, _Helena_."

She beamed up at him, glad to see him using a more personal touch to their 'relationship'. He always did act so coldly to others, but deep down Helena knew that they were friends, he just needed a little more time to adjust.

"Oh!" Helena exclaimed, clutching onto his shoulder once again. "The reason I asked you here tonight, of course was because i've been dying to introduce you to someone. Her name is Katherine Grant. She'll be working closely with our Asylum from tomorrow onwards, as a new psychologist. She moved here not so long ago actually, she's staying not far from here in a hotel until she can get her hands on her own apartment. She'll be working in fields below you of course, since she hasn't had much experience in Arkham. However she did study psychology for a time, and in that brief time topped her classes with extrodinary marks to her name. She's a very bright girl, very beautiful too. I'd like you to meet her now, she's on the fourth floor, where the most of this party is being held. Charming girl, very charming girl," Helena informed him, ending with a small smile.

Jonathan breathed in, he really wasn't in the mood for socializing, especially with those who would call themselves his co-workers. Instead of saying this, he just nodded slightly. "I'm sure it's going to be a pleasure to meet Miss Grant from what you've just told me."

"Yes, i'm sure you two will get along greatly. She reminds me a great deal of you Jonathan," she told him, pushing her way to the stairs, Jonathan following closely. "I think you'll find her quite interesting. She takes a great interest in the study of fear and the effects it has on the mind. She rambled on quite a bit about it when I talked to her earlier, telling her about you and your studies around it. She seemed to be extremely excited to meet you and talk about some of your thoughts on the matter."

Ascending the stairs, he gripped onto the firm and shiny railings, moving past the great crowds of people standing around, all pretending to be someone important. He tried to hide the disgust he felt for the people. They all seemed so happy with the lie surrounding them, the whole idea of them being more then just blood and bone because they had expensive cocktails in their hands and dressed in gowns that probably cost more then his apartment.

"Up here, up here," Helena said, guiding him to a large function room. "Last time I saw her, she was sitting beside the barside table. She's...um, she's not the biggest socialite. She's been sitting there for most of the night from what I know."

"I see," Jonathan replied.

"Right, right. I'm sure she'll come out of her shell now that she has you to talk with though, quite sure. As I said before, she's very interested to meet and speak with you. She talked very highly of your work."

"My work?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow. "My work in Arkham interests her?"

"Yes, very much. She's read through some files on Arkham and it's inmates, while also taking the time to read up on some workers. She was very impressed with your file."

Clearing his throat, he felt himself stand a little taller. "Yes, well, i'm glad to hear me and Miss Grant share similiar interests. Although *ahem* Dr. I was certain those files were under some form of protection from wondering hands."

"Oh no, Jonathan, anyone who works above level in Arkham can access these. It's mostly done for inmates, to further understand their patterns and personalitites, but there are strictly professional files under each worker. It's not a big deal since only a few people work above level and can access these, and they're all very trusted and practiced. Although, most people don't seem to bother looking into their co-workers files, Katherine was very interested when she heard about your fields of study. She asked for the files in fact. But don't be worry, I know you like to keep to yourself, these files are only written to show your progress of work with the inmates."

"Ah," Jonathan said, nodding. "And I am to understand she will be working closely to my department?"

"Yes," Helena replied happily. "I'm excited to see if you two will work together in future. Both brillant minds, it'll be grand to see your fields connecting."

Jonathan followed Helena across the floor, where people were swinging in and out of the crowd, chatting happily and holding cocktails and expensive wines. He dodged a group of younger ladies, all gossiping about something or another.

"I left her just here somewhere," Helena said, peeking above the crowd to the bar.

He followed her eyes to the sidebar, where rows of wooden bar stools were placed along the serving bench. Behind the bench were all kinds of alcohols and beverages, resting on glass cases. Helena moved forward, a slight swing in her step.

"There she is," she beamed as she moved faster.

Looking over to where Helena's eyes were, he noticed a girl sitting by herself to the left of the bar. She looked hidden away behind her straight long hair that covered her face, sipping at her glass. She didn't seem to fit in very well, from what he could see she was trying to hide away from others. He couldn't make out much of her, only her long black hair and what looked like a silky black dress.

He swallowed his complaints of having to socialize with this girl. He already didn't like her from what he had heard. Sure, she seemed smart and interested in similiar topics to himself, but all together she was too interested. Snooping around his files, even if allowed, was something Jonathan didn't want people doing. She could put his whole plan at stake now that she'll be working in his department, she seemed like someone who couldn't mind their own business. What if she started sneaking around? What if she happened to find out about his little experiments on the inmates while sneaking around? What if she stumbled apon his secrets? He was sure she would put everything at risk, he had to get rid of her as soon as he could.

"Katherine, this is the good Doctor Crane and Crane, this is Katherine. I'll leave you two to better know each other," Helena's voice boomed through Jonathan's thoughts. "I'll be over by the buffet, I simply must greet Mr. Haltz."

Helena waved quickly before sweeping away into the crowd, leaving Jonathan alone with Katherine. He quickly gathered himself, clearing his throat and straighting his glasses. "Good evening."

He noticed her eyes light up slightly at his presence and she put her glass on the bench of the bar. She gave him a crooked smile, showing white teeth and wide dimples. "It's wonderful to finally meet you, Dr. Crane. I've been waiting quite the while."

Jonathan noticed she didn't extend her hand like most people to greet him, instead they stayed folded in her lap. She did offer him a sit beside her though, and a drink if he'd like. She seemed a lot more confident then she looked. Her voice even had an almost seductive chime to it, making her appear older then she probably was. She did only look early 20's, maybe a year or two younger then Jonathan himself.

"No thank you," Jonathan declined her offer of a drink, sliding into the chair beside her.

She smiled up at him and nodded, ordering herself a new glass. He took this time to take in her appearence. She wore a long black strappless dress, it fell down below her ankles. Around her waist was a white bow, stitched into the dress going all the way around and drooping slightly. The bottom of her silky dress was scrunched into small folds, giving it a rippled look before falling back into it's normal shape. The dress complimented her slender figure greatly, showing off her small waist. She allowed a small among of clevage at the top of her dress. It wasn't distasteful, nothing about her outfit was, she made it look elegant.

Jonathan couldn't deny that she looked quite stunning, especially with her long hair falling straight down to her waist. Her skin was a pale shade, while still having a nice glow to it. Her nose was small and button like, whereas her lips were large, concealing a white shinning smile that lit up her whole face. Her eyes were the peek of her features, pulling together her whole structure. They were blue, with an almost green tint to them, sparkling lightly as she spoke.

"So Dr. Crane," she began, turning back towards him. "Your work is very interesting. I hope you don't mind but I read your open file, as well as other workers, and yours was by far the most interesting. I'm fascinated by your line of work with the mind."

"I'm glad to see you're so interested in my work," Jonathan replied in his husky yet calm voice. "Most people overlook certain parts of the mind, parts that I rather like to look into. Feelings, thoughts, phobias-"

"Fears," Katherine chimed in.

Peeking through his glasses at her, he blinked. "Yes, fear. A rather intriguing subject for myself."

"I feel the same," Katherine all but blurted out. "About your thoughts, about your studies from what i've seen, which isn't much but..." She trailed off, looking down. Then almost as soon as she looked down, she raised her head back, smiling brightly. "Tell me, doctor, do you find joy in your work?"

"Yes," Jonathan replied right away. "It's why I do what I do."

"Me too," she replied, picking up her glass and sipping. "I absolutely love what I do."

"I can see from your love of research that you're very fond," he said, folding his arms and crossing one leg over the other.

She smiled again at him, in an almost devilish manner. "I do love my research."

"I see that," he replied more harshly then required.

Katherine bit down on her lower lip, avoiding his gaze for a moment. She then turned back towards him, looking straight into his cold blue eyes.

"Look, I know you probably don't like me very much. New girl moving into your area of the playing field and all, I understand. But...I was hoping we could work together. Not all the time of course but, sometimes prehaps. We could share ideas, combine thoughts. I feel like we would make a great team, us two."

Slightly taken back by her sudden out break Jonathan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Miss Grant-"

"Call me Katy," she interrupted.

"_Katy_," Jonathan began, clearing his throat. "I understand your interest in my area, obviously your very taken with my studies. But I must tell you this now, i'm not very fond of 'Sharing ideas'. I tend to keep to myself and work alone, that's how I like it. I hope you don't take it personally, it's strictly business purposes."

Katy's mouth twitched slightly, before she licked her lower lip concealing it. "It's understandable. Although Dr. Crane, i'm sure my work might come of interest to you too. It could go both ways."

"I'm sure your work is very interesting, Miss Grant but i'd rather stick to mine...alone."

"Alright," Katy said, nodding and blinking several times. "Still, i'd like to talk about some things with you, right now if you don't mind."

"Go on," Jonathan told her.

"Your work on fear is increasingly growing as a topic in my mind. If you don't mind, I'd like to...further understand. Your theories, your ideas, everything in your file I read always came down to it, fear. You seem to be quite knowing, quite knowledgable on the topic. Please, tell me more about your dive into the subconscious mind and the control your patients have over themselves when their fears come into play, which has been recorded quite a lot. Often in the case of schizophrenia."

Jonathan was very taken aback. How much had she read on him? How much did his files have to offer on him? He clentched his jaw softly, slightly annoyed at her constant need for conversation. He'd need to check up on these files later, to see just how much she knew. Of course she still wouldn't know about his toxins or his experiments, but he still didn't want her to know much about anything concerning himself.

"What would you like to know about this topic?"

"Well, there's no need to rush, after all Doctor, we have all night to discuss said topic," she said smiling and rolling her eyes slightly.

He noted her smile was fading and growing slightly more tired and he looked at the clock, it was now 10.15pm. They had been talking for 15 minutes, meaning he had only been here for less then half an hour. Already he felt like excusing himself and leaving, he had attented and spoke to Katherine just as Rosemary had asked, he could leave now and be free of the ordeal.

"Tired already?" Katy asked, grinning as she watched Crane stare at the clock.

"Yes. I had a long day today at the asylum. I really should be leaving to get home," he said, trying to shake her off.

"Ah," she spoke. "Well, I won't keep a man waiting in that case."

"It was a pleasure to meet you," Jonathan lied.

Looking over at Katy, he noticed she had a saddened expression on her face. She looked disappointed at his sudden excuse to leave. She licked her lips, nodding again. Then, her expression changed and her frown turned into her crooked smile. She stood up, tucking away her stool, just as he had just done.

"Is it okay if I walk down with you?" I really don't want to have to be around these people anymore," she said, gesturing to the guests. "I can make a quick escape to a cab and be out of here too."

Her eyes almost pleaded he say yes and let her walk down to his car. She seemed to really dislike the surrounding guests. Jonathan was trying to think of an excuse to shake her off once again, but before he could say anything he noticed Helena walking up towards the two. He turned to Katherine quickly, choosing her over Helena to deal with.

"Let's go then," he said.

Turning, he made for the elevator, Katherine following beside him. He heard Helena call his name and then when he didn't respond, instead pretending he couldn't hear, she called Katherine's name. Jonathan prayed she didn't turn around or go back. And she didn't.

_**Bing.**_

The elevator doors closed, shutting him out before he could reach them. Helena was now closing in, her voice still faint in the crowd. He was desperate to leave before he had to have another conversation with that overly annoying woman.

"Over here," Katy said suddenly, taking Jonathan's hand in hers.

He looked to where Katy was taking him in a fast pace. He could feel the bracelet on her hand hitting against his and he felt suddenly uncomfortable. He didn't like having interactions like that, it was too close to confort for him.

Pulling him around a crowd of passer byers, she moved to a stair railing, where a spiral of stairs lead. She walked down the stairs swiftly, turning to him as he walked behind her and threw him a devilish smile. She then turned back around and finished climbing the last stairs, letting go of his hand as he came down also. He was glad she had released her grip on his hand, it felt annoying to have any skin other then his own on him.

"Thank god," she puffed slightly, obviously happy to be away from the crowds.

He gave her the best fake smile he could muster up. "Well, my car is just down there, so again, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, it was. Thank you for your company, I look forward to tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Jonathan asked, curiousity lacing his voice.

Surely she didn't expect to be bothering him at work tomorrow. No, he had things to do, toxins to test and experiments to run. He couldn't have her tagging along or even bothering him at all while he did these. What if she found the basement where he tested his drugs and experiments? He couldn't let her, he had to find a way to get her away until he could get rid of her permanently. He only had to say the word to one of Falcone's men and he could have her done away with, but even so he would have to wait until he could talk with one of these men. Until then, he had to make sure she didn't bother him.

"Yes, didn't Helena inform you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "Tomorrow we have to share an office. I'm sorry, she didn't tell you?"

Jonathan held back a frustrated breathe. He could feel his grip tighten slightly, but he tried to keep his air of calmness. "Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "My office isn't ready yet and Dr. Rosemary said she wanted me in that block, so until it's done, which will be the day after tomorrow, i'm to be placed in your office."

"Done? Exactly what is being done to your office?" he asked, annoyance clear in his calm voice.

"I'm not sure, Dr. Rosemary said she wanted to surprise me with a new office space to do my work in," Katy told him, biting her lip.

Jonathan felt his cheeks redden in anger. So it was Rosemary who did this? He felt his anger for her explode inside of him, but he held his tongue. He always compossed himself as a calm man, he wouldn't want to ruin his reputation.

"I see," he said.

"I'm sorry, I know you wanted to keep our work seperate but I won't be much of a bother. I'll do my work and you do yours, it's only one day after all."

Licking his bottom lip slowly, he adjusted his glasses. "Very well, Miss Grant. I shall see you tomorrow in that case."

Before she could answer, he turned away, walking stiffly to the exit without a second glance.

**Chapter one is done, if you like it so far, follow and get notified (or whatever) for the next chapters coming! Faves and reviews are greatly loved. If you don't like this, please review and tell me why. I like all reviews and I always always read them and get super happy when I get one (because lol, I never do) Thanks!**

**Also, if you're wondering what Katherine looks like to get a real picture in your head, I modeled her after a singer called Amy Lee (hopefully some of you know her!) and that's how I imagine she looks, but I imagine Katherine to be skinner. Although I think Amy is the perfect weight. Anyhoo, review pls and let me know :) -B xox**


	2. Cold shoulder

**auriellis: Thank you for being honest with me & taking time to review. :) Just to clear it up, I didn't want to go 100% by the movie, since it is fanfiction and I do want to add my piece. That's why Crane has a lower stature then he did in the movie, since I wanted to add my own characters (Dr. Rosemary). Although, I will clear things up between the two in later chapters. I do understand it might cause some confusion with how Crane would get away with his experiments, but he is a smart man and i'm sure he could find a way (which i'll try to clear up as much as I can in this chapter). I'll also try harder with editing, I just always seem to overlook small things, no matter how many times I edit. Thanks again for reviewing! :)**

**wouldyouliketoseemymask: Thank you for the nice review! It means a lot since you're one of my fave writters on here! I adore your stories and asdfgj. *fangirls* :)**

**Anyway, long chapter :) I'll try to keep them long, which might mean updating less. I hope this chapter is good enough, i'm not the best writter but I do try, so if you don't like it, i'm sorry, if you do, that's awesome. Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer; I do not own Hunky Crane, nor will I ever, but Katy and Helena do belong to moii.**

...

Jonathan hit the button on his bed side clock, discontinuing the ringing of the the alarm. He set it for a few more minutes, running slightly off schedule for much needed sleep. He had been up all night working on his toxin, since today he wouldn't be able to at work. He ended up forcing himself into bed at around 4.00am, much later then he thought, in order to spend more time perfecting his chemicals.

**_DING DING DING DING._**

Sighing, he fumbled with the clock until the alarm went off completely. He closed his eyes for a second, rubbing them as if it would make him less tired, but of course it didn't. He rose from his bed, yawning as he swung his legs over the side. He ruffled his hair out of his face with his left hand, the other hand reaching for his glasses on his small table. He pulled them open, popping them onto his nose.

Walking over to his small bathroom, the floors creaked lightly with each few steps. He opened the door, revealing a small shower, bathtub, toilet and sink around a marble floor and brick walls. The room which was usually so immaculate in every spot, was slightly untidy. There was a towel on the floor, some newspaper thrown to the side of the bath, slight dust over the sink and a small pile of unclean pajamas thrown over a small stool. Jonathan hadn't had much time to keep everything in order lately, he had been busy with so many other things.

"Great," he mumbled, picking up his unclean clothes.

Normally he would of been digusted with a mess like this but lately he had found he wasn't as fussed. Yes, the mess did annoy him, and yes after a few hours of constant thinking about it, he would end up cleaning it all. But there was always something inside of him that would tell him to leave it, tell him to stop worrying so much over such trivial things, there was much more important things to be done. Toxins, tests, ordering of chemicals, these were the important things, not cleaning, the voice would snap at him from his own head. Although there were many times he would argue this with himself, with his...'Other voice', he would always win. He chose not to address this matter, trying to block out the voice inside his head that told him disorder was good, disorder was freedom, disorder was life. After all, Scarecrow didn't have the control, he did.

Although, lately he wasn't sure if he had as much control as he thought. Lately, the voice...the other personality, was becoming stronger and stronger each day. He would often busy himself in the company of others or at work to block the voice out, but their was no denying it was growing harder to do. Scarecrow seemed to be taking over more control. As soon as Jonathan was left alone with his thoughts, Scarecrow would be there, whispering things he would never think to have thought about. It was like he was two people, both very different from the other, but with one thing in common, Fear.

He quickly shook the thoughts away, deciding to occupy his mind on cleaning the bathroom. He just hoped today Scarecrow would not be gracing his thoughts as he walked over to the towel rack. Again, he shook away the thoughts, he knew if he wondered to much on it, he would appear.

Bending down, he picked up the towel, Jonathan then began walking down to his small laundry room to drop it into his clothes basket. Looking up at the clock in his living room as he passed, he noticed it was getting late. He must of slept in longer then he thought. Quickly, he walked to the bathroom, proceeding to get ready for the day ahead.

Less then half an hour later, Jonathan was walking through his small living room again, picking up his briefcase from the side of the door and closing it behind him. He locked it and placed the keys back into his black suit's front pocket. He then made his way down the narrow hall, walking to his car stationed in the parking lot.

When he got to the dimly lit parking lot, he moved swiftly over to his black car, pressing a button on his keys and unlocking the doors. He held his door open, bending over and placing his briefcase in the passenger's seat neatly. He then slipped back out of his car, before getting back into his own seat. He sat down in the driver's seat and turned the key into the ignition. With a jolt, the car jumped into life and turned on, emitting a loud sound throughout the parking lot.

Jonathan quickly adjusted his rearview mirror as he noticed it was severely out of place, bent all the way to the left. He narrowed his eyes slightly. _I don't remember it being like that yesterday when I was driving._

Placing it correctly into place, he sighed. Realizing some idiot must of either hit his car or knocked it around while trying to get into their own, he put his head out the window, to see if there was any damage. He's cool black coloured car had no marks or scratches, nothing to show at all. Wondering how something could of happened to his mirror, his eyes wondered past his dashboard clock. He had exactly 5 minutes to get to work and it took him at least 25 minutes from here. Quickly, he backed the car out of his parking spot, throwing his car into drive.

...

"Jonathan, you're late," Dr. Rosemary said, a playful smile on her lips. "You're never late..." she finished with a womanly giggle as he stepped into his work place.

"I assure-"

"Oh no, no, no. Don't worry about it. You're always so great with timing, I expect today was only an exception because you had...other things on your mind," Dr. Rosemary finished with a small smile.

"'Other things?'" Jonathan asked curiously.

"Oh, well um," Dr. Rosemary said, turning an odd shade of red, the smile still on her lips. "You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid not, Dr. Rosemary. Would you mind telling me exactly what that is?"

"Oh, i'm sorry!" she blushed. "I didn't mean to intrude on your private life but I'm just so happy you two could hit it off like that! It's great the two of you could be so-"

"I'm sorry?" Jonathan blurted out.

Helena quickly paused, worried she had gone too far. "Oh nevermind, nevermind," she said, waving her hand in the air. "I won't say anything! What you do in your home is none of my business."

"Exactly what won't you tell? In my home?" he asked, realization sinking in. "Two? You don't mean..."

Jonathan ran a hand through his hair, realization hitting as Dr. Rosemary blushed madly. She was obviously confused, seeing as how Jonathan had left in a rush with Katherine, she must have thought...

"No, you're confused about this," Jonathan said firmly. "Miss Grant and I have a strictly professional relationship, if any, and I certainly did nothing other then escort her outside yesterday so she could get a cab home."

"O-Oh," Helena stuttered out, clearly embarrassed. "I just thought...you two seemed in such a rush...holding hands and I..."

"A missunderstanding," Jonathan stated. "Not too worry."

"Well um, i'll be in my office, clearing some, uh, papers. Sorry for the...missunderstanding."

"Quite alright," Jonathan replied, dismissing her apologies.

"Oh and Katherine just arrived, about five minutes before you in fact...that's why I th- nevermind," she said, cutting herself off from more embarrassment. "Anyway, she should be outside your office now, waiting for you."

Jonathan nodded, adjusting his glasses. Helena waved before walking away, down the hallway to her work space. He waited a moment until he knew she would be out of site before walking down the hall to his own work space. He strode up some stairs and down a small hallway until he saw Katherine standing by his door, he moved forward to the door which read his name on a gold frame.

"Good morning," Katherine said upon his arrival.

Jonathan didn't even glance in her direction, instead putting the key into the hole and turning. "It's quite unprofessional to arrive late on your first day, Miss Grant," he said, raising an eyebrow and walking through.

Last night Jonathan decided that if he couldn't do anything about her today, he would just give her the cold shoulder and hope she would leave him be. Tomorrow if she was still in his way, he would have to see someone who could help his problem and rid him of her. There was no way he would let her snoop around, she already knew enough.

He thought about asking one of Falcone's men to pay her off, which was his best bet. Even if she didn't accept the offer, then there was other ways of getting rid of her, but buying her off was safest. He wasn't overly happy with the idea of murder, but at the same time he had little sympathy for others and didn't really care if it came down to it. There were other ways of dealing with things in his opinion, but it wasn't his job so he didn't need to know about it. He'd rather they just got rid of her, any means possible and not let him know. As long as she was gone, that was his problem solved.

"Well, I was busy this morning, as were you obviously from your lateness," Katherine retorted, clearly offended.

Walking behind his desk, he set his briefcase down next to his chair. "I was held back and seeing as it isn't my first day nor have I ever arrived late, I think my lateness could be called a little more rational...and Miss Grant, you really should use more respect when speaking with someone in your work place."

Katherine stared over at him, a confused look on her face. Sure, she knew he wasn't the most friendly person, she knew that from experience of their first encounter, but today he seemed even more unfriendly towards her. She had shown him nothing but kindness and admiration last night and still he was being a complete jackass to her. He was obviously annoyed at having to share his things. She held her tongue as best as she could, trying to look professional especially after her little slip up moments ago. She always did have a short temper, she would have to learn to control her words more carefully, especially around Crane.

He noticed her sigh quickly before looking up at him. "Where can I station myself for today?" she asked.

Jonathan hadn't thought of where she could stay, but he wanted her as far from him as possible. "Over there prehaps," he said, pointing over to the side of the medium sized room, right where a chair stood beside a long full bookshelf.

"Do you know where I can find a desk or something?"

Jonathan looked up over his desk, where he was now sitting with a pile of papers in his hands. "No idea, Miss Grant," he smiled smugly, returning his attention to the papers in his hands.

As he was reading through his reports, he heard a shuffling noise to his left. Peeking over his glasses, he noticed Katherine was moving a tiny stacked desk from behind his metal paper cabinet that he had previously forgotten was there. It was hidden behind some neatly stacked books in the small corner. He watched as she struggled another second to get it down. He chose to ignore her, in the hope that she would do the same throughtout her time in his office.

When she had succeeded and pulled the desk over to her chair, she let out a huff of air. Then she moved her small pile of open files she had been craddling onto said desk, plopping her large nurse styled bag beside them. She then moved behind the desk and sat in her seat. She looked quite funny sitting there behind such a tiny desk in a small corner of the darkened room, flipping through her papers.

Turning back to his own work, he held the thin paper between his two rather bony hands, running his eyes over the stark black ink. His attention was only on his work for mere minutes before he had to look back over at Katherine, who had just knocked her files off of the small desk with a thud.

"Sorry!" she called, bending down to pick up her dropped papers.

Jonathan swallowed hard, trying to ignore the clumbsy girl as she shuffled her papers into her outstretched arms. She fumbled with them before standing slowly and returning to her seat, placing them in front of her with an annoyed sigh. Clearing his throat, he was back onto his papers, acting as though her accident hadn't happened at all.

Over two hours had passed and Katherine had been remaining quiet, with only the odd shuffling noise of her papers or a small cough every now and then. Jonathan was pleased that she hadn't been trying as hard to start any conversations with him anymore, instead focusing on her own work at hand. He could continue his inmates progress reports without any interruptions.

_Inmate #521. Heath Mitchelle. Paranoid schizophrenic._

_Outbursts of sudden anger towards any change in environment. Prone to violent mood swings and/or drastic changes in personalities. It has been recorded that on several different occassions, Mr. Mitchelle has had major breakdowns, which include him trying to tear violently at his own skin, claiming their was insects inside of him, trying to burst out and..._

The words trailed off in Crane's mind as he heard Katherine's voice softly call his name. He closed his eyes in annoyance for the briefest of seconds before looking over to her.

"What is it, Miss Grant?" he asked in annoyance.

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted some coffee? Or tea? It's almost lunch and I thought you might want some, since I was going to get some too," Katherine asked, looking over at him.

"I already had some this morning," he replied not looking up.

"Not a big coffee drinker then?" Katy asked, standing up. "That's fine, i'll just get my own."

With that, Katy was opening the door and walking out, closing it behind her. Jonathan sighed in relief, he hated having others around, even if they didn't speak with him, he still found it to be an inconvenience. Even though Katherine was keeping to herself, there was something about her presence that was off to Crane. He had threw her a few sneaky glances to see what she was doing over the past couple of hours, and everytime she seemed to be doing the same thing. Reading the only coloured file in her pile of dull black ones, with a bored look on her face.

Curiousity snuck up on Crane as he wondered why she had been re-reading and looking over that same file everytime he saw her. It wasn't an overly large file, Crane could have had the whole thing read in less then half an hour, he assumed she could read just as well. Maybe she was trying to memorize it for some reason, or maybe she was researching into whatever it was with great interest. Whatever reason it was, Crane found it rather curious that she had been staring at it for over two hours. He wondered what was so special about that particular file.

_**Have a look before she comes back. Quickly, you know you want to.**_

Jonathan closed his eyes, trying to block out Scarecrow as he looked over at her desk.

Before he could even give it a a second thought, he was slowly rising from his chair, curiousity taking hold of him. He normally wouldn't have acted so impulsive, but this had been bothering him for longer then he'd like to admit and a quick peek would calm his nerves and stop him from wondering on it any longer.

Within a few long strides, he was at her tiny desk, searching for the coloured file. She must have put it back when she got up for her coffee because he couldn't locate it right away.

After a few moments of shuffling through her papers and carefully putting them back in the order she had them, he saw it. It was almost hidden underneath some black files, the corner sticking out somewhat, showing the tint of dull yellow. He carefully placed his hand onto it, pulling it out with the tips of his long fingers. He adjusted his glasses, pushing them upwards on his nose.

"Having fun?"

Jonathan stopped, mentally kicking himself for his curious ways. Katherine walked up behind him, a serious expression on her face, one that he had never seen before.

"Thank you for the interest," she said as she reached for it from his grip.

"I didn't mean to be so forward or wondering, I was just curious about your work."

"It's alright," she said, her expression softening with a faint smile on her lips.

Jonathan cleared his throat, almost embarrassed at being caught. "I should hope you're not annoyed?"

"No," she replied.

"Good," Jonathan said, not really bothered either way, just curious.

"If you were interested though, you could of just asked me," she told him. "I would of been more then happy to show you my work. It's mostly works in progress, theories and all that. But our work is...very similar, Dr. Crane."

"I see," Jonathan began.

"If you'd like to know anything about my work, i'd be happy to talk about it over coffee or lunch, maybe we could even go to dinner?" she said, before he had time to say anything more.

He wondered for a moment if this was her way of asking him on a date. He hadn't really been asked on dates much, he never bothered with things like dating or relationships, in his opinion they were a waste of time, so he wasn't sure if she was asking him or he was just being sensitive about the matter. Either way the thought of having to waste a whole afternoon on anything other then his experiments was less then appealing to him, friendly or professional.

"I'm not much of a going out person," he finally replied.

The expression on her face suddenly changed from hopeful to slightly saddened. She looked up at him, pushing the expression of disappointment away with a smile before she began talking once more.

"I understand how you feel, i'm not much for going out myself," she laughed. "Although, maybe one day I can change your mind. I mean, I really would like to arrange something though, even just a coffee in the staff room where we could talk."

Jonathan pondered on her words for a moment. She was being very insistent about being able to chat with him, he wondered how similar their work was if it sparked so much interest for her to keep mentioning.

"I might take you up on your offer one day, thank you Miss Grant," he lied.

"Please, call me Katy, everyone calls me Katy," she told him happily.

The smile radiating off of her face almost annoyed Jonathan. He wondered how she was always so happy, even in a horrid place like this, working in some small, dull home for the criminally insane.

"If that's what you'd rather," Jonathan replied.

"Yes. And...I'll be waiting for the day," Katy said with a small laugh, walking closer to her desk.

"I look forward to it," Jonathan lied. "But until then, I really should be getting back to work."

Katherine nodded, putting the file in her hand back onto her desk and walking behind it, sitting back into her chair. Jonathan also moved back to his desk, sitting in his comfortable chair and picking through his papers, hoping for the day to come to an end already.

The day had been dragging on for Jonathan as he sat in his chair all day. He just hoped Katherine wouldn't be in his way again now tomorrow now that she had her own office. He knew it would be harder to experiment with her around, she seemed like someone who would be bothering him a lot. _It's only a matter of time, _he thought.

He had decided that if by the end of the week, Katherine was still in his way, he'd go through with paying her off and make sure she was moved into another job placement, where ever it was, he didn't care as long as she was gone. If however she was foolish enough to refuse the bribe, then other means would be involved in getting rid of her. He knew it would be a bad idea to senselessly kill her and bring any attention to her, but if it needed to be done, it would be. He could easily call in one of Falcone's thugs for the job. Besides, the death rate of people in this city was quite high, even if the new hero who called himself the Batman was now getting involved in police matters.

Jonathan peeked up at the clock, seeing he only had another 2 hours, then he was free to leave, just as his co-workers. He wasn't going to be in a rush however, he was going to enjoy some time alone in the old asylum. He had decided he couldn't wait much longer to test his new toxins, he needed to get to work sooner rather then later, so today when everyone was packing up and finishing their day's work, he would wait at least an hour after everyone had left and then continue his work in the secluded basement below the asylum. He just had to be careful.

This was normal for him, it was a way he could test his experiments without the hassle of being caught. He would stay and wait until everyone but security was gone and then he would sneak down to the basement. Of course no one questioned him, as they all assumed he liked working late hours and getting ahead of his work, they never suspected him to be drugging patients or experimenting on inmates, he was careful of that. Plus it was easy for him to stay under the radar, as he barely talked to people who worked in Arkham, trying to stay in his own office and stay out of work parties and affairs. No one here bothered him, apart from the occassional conversation Dr. Rosemary pushed on him.

The security was a joke, he didn't even need to worry about them. All he needed to do was flash some money in their face and they wouldn't even ask questions, they would just assume he was doing extra research or maybe they were just too afraid to see through his lies. Either way, they would leave him to his work while they pretended they saw nothing, letting him excuse patients to another 'ward'. The guards here were corrupt, just like the city, it was all too easy to win them over with money.

On more then one occassion Dr. Rosemary had been curious as to why he liked such late hours, but Jonathan explained to her how much he loved his work and working later into the day was just something he liked doing in his spare time. She was so easy to manipulate and lie to, believing every word he would tell her. She was thrilled over how work oriented he was and told him how dedicated and admirable she thought he was for doing so. _If only she knew, _he thought.

_**If only she knew, she would be dead,** _Scarecrow's voice sang darkly.

Jonathan closed his eyes for a second, trying to clear his mind of Scarecrow's thoughts. There would be plenty of time to listen to his inner voice later while he was experimenting, right now however he tried to block it out, awaiting the day to finish as he shuffled through the last of his papers.

**...**

**Not the best ending but i have the biggest headache and really just wanted to finish it off. I actually broke my nose a couple days ago and everyday it's been giving me horrible headaches and making it hard to read for my eyes. Boo :(**

**Anyway, the next chapter i'll try to make a little different, which you'll see when I post. I'm just making this up as I go along and quite honestly have NO idea where this is going, however I have planned a little twist, which may or may not be in the next update. Also, you all probably expected a little more conversation from the pair, but have no fear, in later chapters there will be a lot more, right now I want to take it more slowly and develope the story.**

**Anyway, please review and let me know what you think so far. :) -B xx**


End file.
